April 29, 2015

Delaware News

Newsworks
Delaware bill would steer extra money to low-income students
House Bill 117 would require the the state to provide an extra unit of funding for every 250 low-income students. At present, districts receive a single finding unit from the state for every 20 students enrolled in grades 4-12. The proportion increases slightly for students in grades K-3. The state also provides more money proportionally to students with special needs.

Delaware State News
Campaign breaks down college barriers
With the help of the state’s “Getting to Zero” campaign, all 1,466 “college-ready” seniors in the class of 2015 applied to college or other post-secondary education programs. Nearly 80 percent of them completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid application, an increase from last year, the state Department of Education announced last week.

The News Journal
A.I. du Pont High program will give college credit
Students could earn up to 33 college credits – the equivalent of an entire freshman year – in a new selective Early College Academy that is starting in the fall at Alexis I. du Pont High School in Greenville.

Delaware Senate passes Wilmington charter moratorium
Lawmakers in the Delaware Senate gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill that will halt the authorization of new charter schools in Wilmington through June 2018, or until the state develops a strategic education plan statewide.

National News

Denver Post
U.S. Department of Education rejects Colorado opt-out waiver request
Colorado schools could face financial or other consequences after the U.S. Department of Education rejected the state’s request for a waiver to No Child Left Behind so it could give a break to districts with large numbers of students opting out of state tests.

The Associated Press
Bill would allow Illinois students to opt out of state tests
As new standardized tests tied to the Common Core standards spark debate around the country, the Illinois Legislature is considering a bill that lays out exactly how students can opt out of the state assessment tests.

The Hechinger Report
Do the arts go hand in hand with Common Core?
Advocates for arts education are hopeful that the Common Core education standards adopted by more than 40 states will soon change that, as the standards and new exams that go with them emphasize critical thinking and analytical skills, which they say go hand in hand with artistic expression.

Stakes for “high-stakes” tests are actually pretty low
Despite all the controversy, few students or teachers will be much affected by the result of this spring’s Common Core-aligned tests. The Hechinger Report surveyed the District of Columbia and all states that will be administering the tests this spring to find out how they plan to use scores. We found that very few states will be using this spring’s scores for any student-related decisions. And the stakes for teachers are only slightly higher.

San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. school board sticks with Teach for America
After a heated debate and a two-week delay, the San Francisco school board Tuesday decided to stick with the status quo, voting to hire 15 Teach for America interns for the next school year, the same number as last year.